Today’s post’s title comes from Linda Loman, wife of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman. This video pays attention to a phenomenon many Chicagoans have no knowledge of: The Bud Billiken Parade. It’s been an annual summer event for decades, attracting a million people regularly. We covered it on Ben Loves Chicago in 1997. In 2024 I had the original mini-DV tape digitized, and I re-edited it. That’s what you have here. How do you like it?
Oh my God. So much life here. So much energy. Sure it was 1997, but I found, while editing this material that I hadn’t seen in nearly 30 years, that the love and explosive vitality of the people and the event were as alive as if it were happening today. And today, we need this kind of energy more than ever.
First thing I noticed was how the first group of parade participants I ran into had so much information about the event. Given what “Faith” had told me, this made sense. The group was from the Baha'i faith, and the parade itself was the brainchild of a member of Baha’i who wanted to create something to bring unity to the community, particularly to the children, to lift up their spirits, to give them something to feel good about. Read about it here.
So many moments to enjoy here. Perhaps my fave was when I asked one of the banner holders how she was enjoying the experience. She said she’d never felt so admired before in her whole life! Oh, and then the Lottery Ball lady who said she was permanently 29 years old.
Speaking of age, I was 43 at the time of the video. But you know what? I didn’t find myself pining for “my youth” as I re-edited the video. (I’m closing in on 71.) No. I found the act of editing coming from a very enthusiastic, alive place today. Today. Once again, the video demonstrates (for me, anyway) how Life is One Continuous Take.
Or parade.
Sure, there’s plenty of paradox in these musings on the nature of space and time. But isn’t that what life is anyway? Yes, I was “younger” then in many ways. And, to quote another eternal spirit, “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” Could that be true? If so, how?
Strangely, only days ago, YouTube served up a clip they thought I’d enjoy. I did not search for it. It was of Iggy Pop making an appearance (and performing “Real Wild Child”) on David Letterman’s show in 1986. The way Iggy moved was incredible. Check it out here.
It just hit me – he was singing “Real Wild Child”! Hel-lo, Universe.
No, I can’t kick my legs around like Iggy did in 1986. But my delight in watching him two days ago in this video was blissful, unfettered, full of wonder, joyous. Present. I can do those things at any age. You can too.
As usual, wise words be damned – all I can tell you is I’m happy to be here, paying attention where attention is due. Linda Loman lamented how unappreciated her hard-working husband Willy was, and how his efforts were so unrecognized. May these words and images bring recognition to people ordinarily and often overlooked as well.
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